During the tumultuous occupation of New Orleans by U.S. naval units in late April 1862, a mob had torn down a national flag marines had hoisted over the U.S. Mint in the city. Later, Union occupation commander Major General Benjamin Butler heard of the incident and had the mob's ringleader, William Bruce Mumford, arrested and tried for treason. Even though it was unclear that New Orleans was legally in Union hands at the time, Mumford was found guilty and hanged in the grounds of the Mint on June 7, 1862. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
Robert Justin Goldstein, ed., Desecrating the American Flag: Key Documents of the Controversy from the Civil War to 1995 (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1996), 1-2.
Record Data
Date Certainty
Exact
Type
Lawmaking/Litigating
